Game Update 64: Qeynos Reborn Update Today

Game Update 64: Qeynos Reborn is coming today on all servers. It’s been 3 months since the long-awaited GU 63, which included the second part of Age of Discovery. In GU 63 we got new contested zones, new group zones and new raid zones, all for players level 85 and higher, not to mention an increase in levels and those wonderful Prestige Points. So what does this Game Update hold in store for us?

Qeynos will finally be easier to navigate, and there will be many new quests for the area, including a new lower level Public Quest in Antonica; Darklight Woods is going to get another visual revamp, although it will be slight; and Battlegrounds and PvP get changes made to them as well. And if this all sounds like it doesn’t affect high-end players, well you’re right.

So what exactly do we have to look forward to in Game Update 64? For those that play at lower levels (or have alts at lower levels) and/or have Battlegrounds/PvP characters, there’s enough to keep us somewhat satisfied. But for those that only have high level characters, this Update is going to be a bit of a disappointment. And what’s worse is that we’re going to have to wait another 4 months for the next update (which hopefully will contain new content for more than one level range).

The new Qeynos is rife with intrigue and conflict as the city and its Queen, Antonia Bayle, and the Circle of Ten, evolve and struggle to oversee the welfare of the goodly folk of Norrath. As it is in most places in Norrath, power can tip the scales. The new racial quests, which are available at all levels, provide an introduction, some history and a sense of place that are specific to your race while experiencing the Qeynosian struggles. The new class and storyline quests in the city, which are unlocked at level 20, 40, 60, and 80, bring you smack dab into the middle of the strife from your class brethren, all the way to the high court.

Storyline Quests

After reaching levels 20, 40, 60, and 80, players should seek out Murrar Shar in Qeynos Province District who will direct them to those needing assistance within the city.

Class Quests

Once you reach level 20, locate Standar Yorden near the harbor in the Qeynos Province District who will get you started on your class specific quests.

Racial Quests

Located in Qeynos Capitol District:

Erudite mentor Maareona Ludimintium

Freeblood mentor Talas Farin

Gnome mentor Trina Tinkerton

Human mentor Patricia Benson

Kerra mentor Lakosha Maera

Ratonga mentor Tilla

Located in Qeynos Province District:

Barbarian mentor Gild Stonebreaker

Dwarf mentor Mav Boilfist

Fae mentor Guard Laelyth

Froglok mentor Rupert Valorbound

Half Elf mentor Shireen Faren-Delnara

Halfling mentor Bungle Proudfoot Elddar Grove

High Elf mentor Eireneith Alannia

Wood Elf mentor Trelly Greenthorn

GENERAL

If you stop mentoring during a duel you will now surrender that duel.

Increased mount window limit to 100.

You can now preview (ctrl + left click) equipped items.

POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION

General

x4 raid mobs that proc damage on melee hits and misses have had the damage of their procs reduced.

Guild based City Merchants in Qeynos, Kelethin, and New Halas no longer require specific city citizenship, only that you are Good Aligned.

Level scaling zones should now present a little more challenge to players over level 90.

Plane of War x4 Raid

Players may now enter The Plane of War x4 raid from The Fortress of Drunder without having to kill any of the demigods of war.

Butcherblock

Strongarm Fellhorn is now a male with the same appearance each time he spawns.

Withered Lands

Hexapola – players have more time to get away from ooze puddles that spawn around Hexapola.

Skyshrine

You may now purchase a Crate of Endless Plunder from Quartermaster Zrek in Skyshrine.

Players who are adventuring in Dungeon Maker dungeons will now all be bolstered up. So if you are below level 92 you might notice that your health has been scaled up a lot. This is to make things like group wards work well across groups of mixed level players.

Tweaked level agnostic damage in Dungeon Maker dungeons to be more consistent. You should do similar damage to all NPCs in the zone regardless of them having difficulty reduced or increased via items.

Fixed a bug where entering a Dungeon Maker dungeon as your character when mentored and while you had a pet summoned would cause you to be unmentored but not the pet.

My apologies for not including the full update notes. Here are the rest.

ACHIEVEMENTS

The following achievements should now properly update:

Arreken Skyward’s Demise

Shorthanded: Arreken Skyward’s Demise

Flawless: Arreken Skyward’s Demise

Sargon the Destructor’s Demise

Shorthanded: Sargon the Destructor’s Demise

Flawless: Sargon the Destructor’s Demise

Many achievements on the list that were not able to be obtained have been removed.

ABILITIES / ALTERNATE ADVANCEMENT

Focus Effects

Focus Effects have been removed from items and are now associated with your character’s advancement. Every nine levels you may chose a new Focus Effect from the “Character Development & Alternate Advancement” window (default hotkey L) under the “Focus Effects“ section.

Fighter

Fighters now get Recklessness at level 20. This ability is an extremely offensive combat stance, increasing ability damage by a substantial amount while increasing incoming damage to the fighter.

Brawler

Brawler’s Tenacity is no longer modified by potency.

Enhance: Brawler’s Tenacity now extends the duration of Brawler’s Tenacity by 1.5 seconds per rank.

Altruism now heals for 30% when triggered but can no longer have the heal modified except by direct means.

Tag Team no longer is a hate swap. It now just applies dodge chance to the brawler and the target. If the brawler targets his or herself, he or she will also be healed for 50%. The brawler and target no longer need to be engaged in combat to cast Tag Team.

Tag Team also makes the target and caster immune to Strikethrough while active.

Monk

Crouching Tiger no longer makes the monk immune to Strikethrough.

Mend’s heal can no longer be modified except by direct means.

Tsunami now makes the monk immune to Strikethrough while active.

Bob and Weave now makes the monk immune to Strikethrough while active.

Crouching Tiger grants 5% physical damage reduction to the caster. This does not scale with ability quality or level.

Bruiser

Bodyguard no longer makes the bruiser immune to Strikethrough.

Ignore Pain’s heal can no longer be modified except by direct means.

Impenetrable Will now makes the bruiser immune to Strikethrough while active.

Unyielding Resolve’s heal can no longer be modified except by direct means.

Unyielding Resolve now makes the bruiser immune to Strikethrough while active.

Bruising has been removed and replaced by Recklessness. Focus: Stances no longer modifies Bruising.

Bodyguard grants 5% physical damage reduction to the caster. This does not scale with ability quality or level.

Warrior

Unyielding Will’s heal can no longer be modified except by direct means. The value of the heal is now 100% at master quality.

Dragoon’s Reflexes now makes the warrior immune to Strikethrough while active.

Berserker

Vision of Madness’s heal can no longer be modified except by direct means. The value of the heal has been tripled.

All versions of Blood Rage have been consolidated into one spell. The spell will be the rank of the highest ranked version of Blood Rage. For example, a berserker with Master Blood Rage III and all the rest at Expert will have a master version of the new ability.

Blood Rage’s heal is now percentage based and can not be modified except by direct means.

Enhance: Blood Rage now increases the value of Blood Rage’s heal by 2% of the base value per point.

Blood Rage III is no longer a Grandmaster choice at level 54. It has been replaced with Chaos IV.

Blood Rage VI is no longer a Grandmaster choice at level 85. It has been replaced with Destructive Rage VI.

Perserverance’s heal is now percentage based and can no longer be modified except by direct means.

Unflinching Will grants 5% physical damage reduction to the caster. This does not scale with ability quality or level.

Ward of Rage now applies to War Cry as a new trigger and now gains potency. The base ward size has been increased by 30%.

Jeering Onslaught now has a 10 meter range.

Utter Destruction now has a 10 meter range.

Guardian

Block now makes the guardian immune to Strikethrough while active.

Defensive Minded now makes the guardian immune to Strikethrough while active.

Armored grants 5% physical damage reduction to the caster. This does not scale with ability quality or level.

Fight Through Death now increases the guardian’s maximum health by 5% per rank after Unyielding Will triggers.

Crusader

Legionnaire’s Mercy now increases the amount of heals the crusader receives rather than improving the size of their heals.

Legionnaire’s Focus now increases Doublecast Chance rather than improving the size of their heals.

Paladin

Stonewall now makes the paladin immune to Strikethrough while active.

Faith Strike’s heal can no longer be modified except by direct means and is now percentage based above level 20.

Enhance: Faith Strike is now 5% to the heal amount per rank.

Holy Circle’s heal can no longer be modified except by direct means and is now percentage based above level 20.

Arch Heal’s heal is now percentage based and can no longer be modified except by direct means.

Divine Favor’s heal has been substantially increased and can no longer be modified except by direct means.

Lay on Hands will increase the target’s maximum health and physical mitigation for a short duration. Its heal can no longer be modified except by direct means and is now percentage based.

Holy Prayers is now 1.85% heal amount per rank.

Prayer of Healing will increase the group’s maximum health for a short duration. Its heal can no longer be modified except by direct means and is now percentage based above level 20.

Allied Prayers is now 2% heal amount per rank.

Focus: Prayer of Healing is now 10% heal amount.

Holy Aid will increase the target’s physical mitigation for a short duration. Its heal can no longer be modified by direct means and is now percentage based above level 20.

Devout Prayers is now 2% heal amount per rank.

Devout Sacrament will increase the caster’s maximum health for a short duration. Its heal is now percentage based and can no longer be modified except by direct means.

Faithful Cry’s heal amount is now percentage based and can no longer be modified except by direct means.

Marr’s Favor no longer increases heal amounts.

Knight’s Stance grants 5% physical damage reduction to the caster. This does not scale with ability quality or level.

Shadowknight

Shadowknight’s Furor now makes the shadowknight immune to Strikethrough while active.

Devour Vitae’s heal is now percentage based and can no longer be modified except by direct means. The heal has been increased.

Focus: Devour Vitae’s heal is now percentage based and can no longer be modified except by direct means. The heal has been increased.

Grim Harbinger’s heal can no longer be modified except by direct means and is now percentage based above level 20.

Leech Touch’s heal is now percentage based and has been drastically increased. It should not be modified by potency.

Enhance: Shadow Coil’s heal is now percentage based and has been drastically increased. It should not be modified by potency.

Focus: Caress Feedback’s heal is now percentage based and no longer has a variance.

Hateful Respite’s heal is now percentage based, has been slightly increased and can no longer be modified except by direct means.

Reaver’s heal can no longer be modified except by direct means. The base value has been increased from 2% to 4%.

Unholy Blessing’s heal can no longer be modified except by direct means and is now percentage based above level 20. The heal has been increased.

Enhance: Unholy Blessing is now 2% per rank.

Siphon Strike’s heal can no longer be modified except by direct means and is now percentage based above level 20. The heal has been increased.

Unholy Hunger’s heal can no longer be modified except by direct means and is now percentage based above level 20.

Malevolent Protection’s heal can no longer be modified except by direct means and is now percentage based.

Painbringer is now a minor lifetap over time. Its heal is percentage based above level 20 and cannot be modified except by direct means.

Unholy Absorption now reduces incoming damage by 0.5% per rank.

Lucan’s Pact grants 5% physical damage reduction to the caster. This does not scale with ability quality or level.

Warden

Armor of Seasons now grants over 50% more mitigation, going from 1079 at Master on the level 84 versions to 1654.

The Sandstorm proc “Hidden Strikes” is now a hidden effect.

Fury

Armor of Nature now grants over 50% more mitigation, going from 1079 at Master on the level 84 versions to 1654.

Templar

Holy Armor now grants over 50% more mitigation, going from 1079 at Master on the level 84 versions to 1654.

Mystic

Runic Armor now grants over 50% more mitigation, going from 1079 at Master on the level 84 versions to 1654.

Defiler

Shroud of Armor now grants over 50% more mitigation, going from 1079 at Master on the level 84 versions to 1654.

Inquisitor

Sacred Armor now grants over 50% more mitigation, going from 1079 at Master on the level 84 versions to 1654.

Mage

Magi’s Shielding now grants 1035 physical mitigation at level 92.

Priest

The Priest Class Starter Alternate Advancements now grant physical mitigation once selected and can be viewed in the passive effects window. They grant 966 physical mitigation at level 92 and 105 physical mitigation at level 10. This does not scale with additional points spent.

Beastlord

Savage Ruin now grants 997 physical mitigation on the level 89 version at Master.

Swashbuckler

Bladeweaver now grants 997 physical mitigation on the level 89 version at Master.

Assassin

Villainy now grants 997 physical mitigation on the level 89 version at Master.

Ranger

Hunter’s Instinct now grants 997 physical mitigation on the level 89 version at Master.

Brigand

Street Smarts grants an additional 997 physical mitigation on the level 89 version at Master.

Troubador

Daelis’ Dance of Blades grants 997 mitigation from the 89 version at Master quality.

Dirge

Death’s Door grants 997 mitigation from the 89 version at Master quality.

Summoner

Teamwork should no longer draw the summoner into combat.

PVP UPDATES

General

Implied targeting should now show up in PvP and casting a beneficial spell when you have an enemy targeted (who is targeting another of your enemies) will no longer fail and will cast the ability on yourself.

Exiles will now earn rewards for PVP but only if they kill non-exiles. Exiles killing other Exiles will still give no rewards.

PvP Stats

Separate PVP versions of stats have been removed. You now derive your base effectiveness in PVP combat from your normal stats.

Old PVP tokens will now convert into Legacy Marks. These Legacy marks can be redeemed at the Legacy Rewards merchant in Champion’s Respite.

You cannot have more than 20,000 Havoc Marks at one time. Any marks obtained over this cap will be destroyed.

Mercenaries

Mercenaries now have reduced Toughness and Lethality in PVP combat.

OPEN WORLD PVP UPATES

Tokens

Havoc Marks are now awarded on kill. These are split evenly between those involved in a kill.

Writs can still be done for additional rewards, but no longer award tokens.

Cities

PVP is now enabled in Qeynos.

The amount of guard coverage in Freeport and Qeynos has been increased on Nagafen.

Warfields

Warfields now grant a large amount of Havoc Marks upon completion.

The health of the warfield towers has been increased.

Flying is now disabled if you are participating in a Warfield.

Infamy

You are now worth an increasing amount of infamy, starting at zero.

The longer you stay alive, the more you are worth.

Players with higher titles are worth more infamy.

Infamy is now awarded on every kill, assuming your target is worth any infamy at all, regardless of if you have killed that person recently or not.

The amount of infamy required to obtain the titles below Overseer has been reduced.

The amount of infamy transferred upon a successful kill has been reduced.

PVP GEAR

New, full sets of PvP gear are available for purchase in Champion’s Respite!

PVP specific stats on old PVP gear has been replaced with normal versions of these stats.

Season 2 PvP armor now has PvE stats as well as toughness and lethality.

The duration of freedom potions has been reduced in PVP combat.

The effectiveness of manastones has been reduced in PVP combat.

Essence of Power potions now have reduced effectiveness in PVP combat.

Essence of Clarity potions now have reduced effectiveness in PVP combat.

Mental Breach poisons now drain slightly less power in PVP combat.

PVP ABILTIES / ALTERNATE ADVANCEMENT

General

The duration of crowd control effects in PVP combat has been reduced.

Many control effect immunity procs no longer function in PVP combat.

Blessing: Mischief Maker – duration reduced to 10s in PVP combat.

Blessing: Tempest duration reduced to 10s in PVP combat.

Autoattack damage has been slightly reduced in PVP combat.

Commanding Roar has been added to a few group buffs and replaced flat taunt immunity on a few more. The affected spells are called out by individual classes below. Commanding roar makes the group immune to all PVP taunt effects for 10 seconds. A player can receive this effect once every minute.

Mage PVP Updates

General

Arcane Bewilderment will now prevent the target from targeting the mage for 3 seconds.

Enchanter

Mesmerizing Trance – now has a 20% chance to trigger in PVP combat.

Psychic Trauma – now has an upper limit of 10 hits in PVP combat.

Channeled Focus now applies Commanding Roar. Commanding Roar makes the caster’s group immune to taunt effects for a short duration in PVP combat.

Evade will now prevent the target from targeting the mage for 3 seconds.

Beastlord

Noxious Grasp now properly pulls the target to the caster in PVP combat.

Predator

Predator’s Final Trick – no longer grants PVP crit bonus.

Fatal Combination damage in PVP combat has been reduced.

Noxious Enfeeblement – increased damage in PVP combat.

Assassin

Intoxication – no longer blurs vision of target in PVP combat.

Murderous Design – now grants an avoidance proc in PVP combat.

The damage of Fatal Followup has been reduced in PVP combat.

Masked Strike – increased damage in PVP combat.

Impale – increased damage in PVP combat.

Ambush – increased damage in PVP combat.

Ranger

Primal Reflexes – now has a chance to grant extra avoidance when hit in PVP combat.

Archer’s Fury proc damage has been slightly reduced in PVP combat.

Makeshift Arrows damage has been slightly reduced in PVP combat.

Lightning Strike’s damage has been increased in PVP combat.

Miracle Shot’s damage has been increased in PVP combat.

Searing Shot’s damage has been increased in PVP combat.

Triple Shot’s damage has been increased in PVP combat.

Brigand

Befuddle – now grants a damage proc in PVP combat.

Debilitate’s physical mitigation reduction has been reduced.

Dispatch’s physical mitigation reduction has been slightly reduced.

Beg for Mercy now properly detaunts the affected target.

Mercy or Anger now properly detaunts the affected target.

Swashbuckler

Avoid Blame – now grants a damage proc in PVP combat.

Swarthy Deception – now grants an avoidance proc in PVP combat.

Reach now works in PVP combat. The effectiveness of Reach in PVP combat has been reduced to 33% of its PVE values.

Advance Warning now lasts for 10 seconds in PVP combat.

Bard

Cadence of Destruction – no longer adds PVP potency.

Dexterous Sonata – no longer adds PVP crit bonus.

Veil of Notes now lasts for 12 seconds in PVP combat.

Bladedance now lasts for 10 seconds in PVP combat.

Troubador

Sonic Interference – interrupt chance is now 25% in PVP combat.

Alin’s Serene Serenade – now grants a damage proc to the group in PVP combat.

Abhorrent Verse – now grants an avoidance bonus to the group in PVP combat.

BATTLEGROUNDS

General

Battlegrounds are now split into two tiers. The level 30 to 89 “level agnostic” tier and the level 90+ tier.

Damage, healing, and survivability in the 30-89 bracket are equalized. Having additional AAs or better gear will still give minor advantages.

Clicking on the score window in a battleground will now open the leaderboard window.

Battlegrounds now award Havoc Marks upon completion.

You can earn additional Havoc Marks during the match by performing heroic deeds, such as performing a death blow or achieving a kill streak.

All Battlegrounds now require less players to start a match.

The Frozen Tundra battleground has been temporarily removed. It is getting revamped and will return once the revamp is complete.

Battlegrounds now have some voice over that plays when certain events happen.

Smuggler’s Den

The Central Tower is now more valuable. The time required to cap this objective has been increased.

The time required to cap all of the outer towers has been reduced.

The point value of the North and South towers has been increased to match the East and West towers.

Ground mounts are now usable in Smuggler’s Den.

Gears of Klakanon

The amount of points rewarded for a player kill has been increased.

The point value for killing the player with the ball has increased.

The total score required for a victory has been increased.

Invisible walls should now protect players from getting spawn camped.

Battlefield of Ganak

Players carrying the flag will now have their movement speed reduced. They will also take increased damage from incoming attacks – this effect scales up the longer you hold the flag.

TRADESKILLS

Upgrade essences for brawler combination stances have been changed into transmutable slag.

ITEMS

Focus Effects have been removed from items.

All Focus Effect Adornments have been refunded for their original purchase price and are no longer available to be purchased.

Plane of War gear has been reset. Any reforging has been reset and a free reforging token has been granted for each piece that was reforged. Any adornments that were on this gear will be in the owner’s inventory. These items are now unattuned.

New Drunder Challenge Mode Raid gear added. Also, existing weapon damage has been adjusted and armor sets have been adjusted to be more inline with other tiers.

Helm of Foamy Goodness can now be turned on and off reliably, and quickly.

Circlet of Love can now be equipped by beastlords.

Runes of Blasting and Mending will no longer be affected by stats.

The Abstract Chain of Energetic Thought now has more appropriate stats.

Current Mythical weapons have had their damage ratings brought down to be more in line with long term progression, they are no longer receiving a double damage bonus. Many other mythical items have had their quality increased to be in line with other mythical items.

Sevalak’s breastplate drop quality should now be more in line with difficulty.

Skyshrine: Stats on items received from Claws of Veeshan Crate of Endless Plunder have been improved to be more in line with the challenge and time invested.

Plane of War: Many items will no longer drop 50% of the time. They are now 100% drops. Some bosses have had the amount of items they drop changed to be more consistent.

All Plane of War accessories now share the set bonuses with Drunder challenge mode accessories.

LIVE EVENTS

City Festivals

Sanya Farshore, general goods merchant, now sells a Bag of Teleportation Pads!

QUESTS

Qeynos

Fire and Feathers – The quest description now accurately describes the quest’s objective.

Vortix

And, way to rob raiders of the achievement to open PoW. People won’t be able to experience that satisfaction anymore; the accomplishment is just as desirable as farming the gear inside. It’s the journey, the struggle, not the destination.

Silly game developers losing sight of game design principles. If it was so difficult to open PoW, then maybe there was a problem with the difficulty … or the gear from which you expected us to succeed with.

Benj

Just because PoW is open doesn’t mean that everyone will jump straight there. I still see guilds on the Unrest server that level lock themselves at 70 to advance through KoS and EoF raids. I currently have my main running the old RoK raid progression timeline. What does it say about my paladin when he can’t solo Venril Sathir at 92 with the SS Inquisitor merc?

Karith

Szah

The target casting bar is now blinking rapidly as it is apparently now showing mob combat arts as well as mob casting. This makes it hard to time those big nasty AEs when the mob is also doing professional abilities because the casting bar gets reset & clears after the CA completes most of the time.

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